Follow the Cards
by Carmen Willious Dorman
Summary: [Oneshot] Lately, Number XII had been finding cards scattered all over the place...


First thing's first, the author must say that this is her first piece of work on so if there's anything drastically bad you want to point out (i.e. grammar, OOC-ness, and the like), just leave it in your review!

Second, I'm a HUGE fan of this pairing. They never get enough love. 'Nuff said.

Third, there will be some small fluff in the end. Just to warn you ahead of time.

Fourth, I don't own Kingdom Hearts II or any of the characters. If I did, Kairi wouldn't wait around on Destiny Islands like a lemon and the Organization would have gotten LOADS more screen time. On with the story…

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Larxene found another one.

On this particular day, the nymph had been finding small, mint-green cards with her name on them in the oddest of places. This card (like the many others she found that day) carried instructions on the back. In curled black letters, it read, "To the Kitchen."

Who, she pondered, in their right mind would give her orders like these indirectly? Although she was curious as to what was _in_ the kitchen, she didn't like the idea of being told instructions by a person she didn't even know.

Who DID leave these cards around, anyway?

She huffed a small sigh and glided on small feet to the kitchen.

-----

Once there, she gazed around at the silver metal cabinets with the Organization's insignia as handles. On the opposite end of the room, Zexion was steaming something in a black pot of water on the stove. He was keeping a close eye on his watch.

"If only Luxord didn't screw with the clocks on a regular basis," the schemer grumbled, "then I wouldn't have to rely on my broken watch."

A mischievous smile curled on Larxene's lips. At least Luxord kept things interesting around here.

Then she saw a mint-green card taped onto the silver cabinet door above the stove.

"Zexie," Larxene almost commanded suddenly. "Don't move."

His eyes widened, but he moved no muscles. He didn't know what the hell kind of a mood she was in, but he hoped he wouldn't become the victim of it. His large, frightened eyes were glued to his watch, ticking the seconds away.

He felt a weight press behind him when Larxene leaned on his back to reach above him. Of course, he was too petrified to see what she was doing, so he held his breath, expecting the worst.

Then he heard the small peel of an adhesive above him and the weight was off his back. "Ok," Larxene said. "You can move now."

He freed his captive breath and turned an annoyed gaze to the neophyte. "What the hell was that?"

"There was a note above your head on the cabinet. She observed the heading stating her name on the card and flipped it over. "The library?!" she exclaimed. "Who the hell IS this guy?" She stormed out of the room, huffing another sigh.

Then the stove caught on fire.

-----

Vexen was in the library that day, his narrow reading glasses on his sharp nose as his eyes darted between his notes and a scientific journal on chemistry. He picked up his papers in confusion.

"Odd," he mumbled. "The test results should have brought me a different conclusion…"

A sudden idea came upon him that he'd never thought he'd think before. "Perhaps I'm…WRONG?"

Larxene walked casually through the small doorway into the clustered library. "That would be a first," she retorted.

He held his tongue, instead reaching to one of his notebooks and pulling out a mint-green card. "Here," he bit back, holding it out to her.

She smiled and snatched the card from his thin fingers. She read the instructions on the back, and suddenly her mischievous smile turned to a sour grimace.

"The training room? What the hell's so important in the training room?" She turned sharply and left the room.

Once she was gone, Vexen heaved a sigh of relief and went back to his (hopefully not wrong) notes.

"Oh! Vexie!" Larxene poked her head in the doorway. "I have a question for you."

Vexen took in a sharp intake of breath. He hated that nickname with a passion and she knew it. "Make it quick," the scientist nearly spat.

"Did my book come in yet?"

Vexen rolled his emerald eyes. She had been asking for _days_ on end about that novel. "No," he groaned, "'The 120 Days of Sodom' by Marquis de Sade still hasn't been delivered yet."

Instead of a sarcastic retort, Vexen only heard, "Poo," and a light tread of footsteps heading off to the training room.

-----

Larxene stood in the middle of the white marble hallway, arms crossed, a sour look on her face, and a wad of mint green cards in her left hand.

This was getting ridiculous. She had been everywhere in the damn castle—the kitchen, the library, the training room, the laundry room, the swimming pool, and even inside Xigbar's bedroom! —and still, there was no answer to where this adventure would lead!

_Whoever made these cards should be shot in the head,_ she thought, looking at her newest card.

"To Your Bedroom," it read.

She hoped this would be her last stop.

-----

The creak of the door practically echoed inside of her room. The darkness hid every small detail of her corridors. Her lavender candle's scent crept around the dark corners of her room.

She flipped her light switch with a CLICK.

The lights illuminated the room brightly. Dartboards scattered the walls everywhere, along with an occasional gold-framed mirror of some bizarre size or shape. A small and squat black bookcase sat in the far right corner of the room, filled with leather-bound and colorful volumes and boxes. Her queen-sized bed sat next to the bookcase on the right wall, and on her black comforter over white sheets (the rest of her room was clean, so she decided not to make her bed that day), there was something that wasn't in her room before.

A shoebox sized mint-green box, with chocolate brown ribbon tied in a bow on top, sat on her bed covers.

Since the box was the same shade of green as the cards she held in her hand, Larxene figured that this was her final stop. She approached the box, almost cautiously, until she was beside her bed.

Well, the box didn't explode. Still, she gently pinched the ribbon between her thumb and forefinger, and pulled slowly.

Nothing happened, except for the ribbon coming undone.

Her nimble hands then carefully lifted the box's lid.

No bombs were inside. No exploding candies were in there, either, like Axel's _last_ stunt.

There was a brown leather book. She couldn't see the title, because a mint green card was conveniently placed over it. It read, "To Larxene, from Your Secret Admirer."

The nymph smirked to herself. She knew whose work this was now. _What a nut_, she thought, and moved the card off the precious cover.

'The 120 Days of Sodom' by Marquis de Sade sat in the box, just for her! She gasped and grabbed the book hurriedly, pressing her new treasure to her chest. She silently squealed in excitement. She finally had the book! She finally had the precious book!

Suddenly, she felt a pair of familiar, strong arms wrap themselves smoothly around her tiny waist. A pair of soft lips kissed her ear, tickling her with the beard that rested upon them.

Larxene smiled to herself. "Thank you, Luxord," she sighed happily.

The only reply she earned from her lover was a tender, "You're welcome."

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Merry Christmas, everyone. :)


End file.
